Laser depilator

ABSTRACT

A laser depilator comprising a unit for removing hairs from the skin, a light source for irradiating laser light, and a lens for irradiating the skin with the laser light irradiated from the light source while deforming the beam shape so as to conform to the shape of a region of the skin from which hairs are removed by the hair removing unit. Since removal of hairs shielding the laser light and irradiation of laser light for damaging hair roots can be carried out continuously, efficiency of depilation treatment can be enhanced. Furthermore, depilation can be carried out effectively through a simple arrangement because a shaved skin surface can be irradiated with laser light over a relatively wide range using a lens.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a laser depilator which irradiates theskin surface with laser light to perform a depilation treatment.

BACKGROUND ART

Laser light has a characteristic that it is reflected from a whitesubstance but absorbed by a black substance. When it is irradiated tothe skin surface of a human body, it is easily absorbed by melaninpresent in the skin. A principle of laser depilation irradiates laserlight to cellular tissues of the skin containing a large amount ofmelanin, outer root sheaths, hair mother cells and the like to generateJoule heat so to damage hair roots, thereby destructing a hairregeneration mechanism.

To perform the laser depilation, it is necessary to remove previouslyhairs subject to the depilation before laser light is irradiated so thatlight energy is not mostly absorbed by hairs before laser light reachesthe hair roots.

Hairs are removed by various methods such as pulling out hairs usingtweezers, applying depilatory cream to a target portion, peeling hairsby a depilatory tape and the like. These depilatory methods aretroublesome and also involve a pain but have advantages that the finishis fine because no hair remains as compared with shaving by a razor andthe regrowth of hairs is delayed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Laser depilatory is said that it must be performed continuously for along period. For example, it is said that the effect can be obtainedafter a lapse of at least about three months after starting thedepilation treatment by irradiation of laser light. Therefore, it istroublesome for the user to perform the above-described depilationtreatment every time the laser depilation treatment is performed.

Under the circumstances described above, the present invention providesa laser depilator capable of performing a high-efficiency laserdepilation treatment by a simple structure.

To achieve the above object, a laser depilator according to the presentinvention is comprised of a hair removing unit for removing hairs fromthe skin, a light source for irradiating laser light, and a lens forirradiating the skin with the laser light irradiated from the lightsource while deforming the beam shape so as to conform to the shape ofthe region of the skin from which hairs are removed by the hair removingunit.

This laser depilator can bring efficiency to the depilation treatmentbecause the removal of hairs shielding the laser light and theirradiation of laser light damaging hair roots can be performedcontinuously. And, this laser depilator can use a lens to irradiatelaser light to a relatively large range on the hair-removed skin surfaceand realize an effective depilation treatment by a simple structure.

For the hair removing unit, either a shaving mechanism for shaving theskin hairs or a mechanism for tweezing the skin hairs can be used.

When the shaving mechanism is used to remove hairs, a comfortable laserdepilation treatment can be performed without damaging the skin andwithout causing substantially any pain. And, when the tweezing mechanismis used, there are advantages that substantially no hair remainsunshaved, the finish is fine, and regrowth of hairs is delayed. Theabove mechanisms can be used selectively and appropriately for the hairremoving unit.

The hair removing unit may be detachable from the laser depilator body.

The hair removing unit, which tends to become dirty because of the hairsremoved from the skin, can be washed with water or the like byconfiguring it to be physically separable from an optical system and acontrol system for irradiating the laser light. As a result, the laserdepilation treatment can be performed hygienically. And the hairremoving unit can be prevented from being filled with hairs, and a gooddepilatory effect can be retained.

The laser depilator may further have a movement detection unit fordetecting its movement with respect to the skin and an irradiationquantity control unit for controlling an irradiation quantity of laserlight from the light source in response to the movement detected by themovement detection unit.

For the “movement detection unit”, a roller which rotates in contactwith the skin when the laser depilator is moved can be used. An opticalmethod or the like may be used for the “movement detection unit” todetect the movement without contacting.

The detection of the movement of the laser depilator provides thefollowing. For example, laser can be irradiated to the skin which isundergone the removal of hairs by the depilation unit by turning ON/OFFthe laser light in accordance with the moving direction of the laserdepilator. A nonuniform depilatory effect can be reduced by changing theintensity of the laser light in accordance with the moving speed of thelaser depilator so to prevent the energy of laser light irradiated tothe skin from varying largely.

The laser depilator may further have an image pickup unit for taking animage of at least proximity of an area of the skin to which laser lightis irradiated through the lens and a display unit for magnifying anddisplaying the image taken by the image pickup unit.

The laser depilator body can be moved while seeing the magnified imageof the portion being depilated displayed by the display unit, so thatthe laser light can be irradiated accurately to the target depilatingportion. Thus, the depilatory effect is enhanced, the efficiency of thedepilation treatment is improved, and the time and labor required forthe depilation treatment are saved.

Because a visual change appears on the skin surface (particularly, ahair root cell portion) which is once exposed to the irradiation of thelaser light, it is easy to distinguish between the portion irradiatedwith the laser light and the untreated portion. Thus, the efficiency ofthe treatment can be improved.

The laser depilator may be further provided with a recovery vessel forrecovering hairs removed from the skin surface by the hair removingunit.

The removed hairs can be easily disposed because they can be collectedinto the recovery vessel.

The laser depilator may be further provided with a grip to be held by auser, and an operation unit disposed in proximity of the grip and tooperate the irradiation of the laser light from the laser light sourceand the hair removing unit.

For example, it becomes possible to operate by one hand, and the laserdepilator becomes excellent in convenience.

The hair removing unit may have a plural-blade unit.

The hair removing unit, e.g., the shaving mechanism, is comprised ofso-called double blades or triple blades, so that hairs are shaveddeeply, and the hair root portions are well exposed. Thus, the laserlight energy can be supplied to the hair root portions in a largerquantity, and the depilatory effect can be enhanced.

Here, the hair root portions buried deep into the skin are substantiallypulled up to the skin surface by the blade unit at the moment of shavinghairs by the third blade or the like, so that the hair root portions towhich the laser light is irradiated then is largely damaged, and ahigh-efficiency depilation treatment is performed.

The power supply for driving the device body may be a rechargeablebattery or a dry cell. This laser depilator is suitable as, for example,a portable device.

A depilation treatment adjusting mechanism, which varies a drive speedof the hair removing unit and an irradiation power of the laser light bythe laser irradiation mechanism and adjusts the distribution betweenthem, may be further provided.

When the drive speed of the hair removing unit is set to be fast, namelyan effect of removing unwanted hairs is high (the energy of laser lightis hardly absorbed by unwanted hairs), the laser depilator according tothe present invention adjusts the irradiation power of laser light to beweak. Meanwhile, when the drive speed of the hair removing unit is setto be slow, namely when the effect of removing unwanted hairs is low(the energy of laser light is easily absorbed by the unwanted hairs),the irradiation power of laser light is adjusted to be high. Therefore,this laser depilator uses power effectively and is economical. When arechargeable battery or a dry cell is used as the drive power supply,the laser depilation treatment can be performed for a long time.

The laser depilator may be provided with an irradiation power displayunit which visually indicates the irradiation power of the laser lightirradiated from the laser light source.

The irradiation energy of laser light to the skin surface which issignificant as a depilation treatment condition can be made recognizableby the user.

A laser depilator according to the present invention is comprised of ahair removing unit for removing hairs from the skin, a light source forirradiating laser light, a condenser lens for condensing lightirradiated from the light source, and an irradiation position changingmechanism for displacing an irradiation spot of light condensed by thecondenser lens.

The irradiation range of the laser light can be dissipated (expanded) bygiving, for example, weak vibrations or a reciprocating motion to thelaser light source or the condenser lens. Thus, a high-efficiency laserdepilation treatment can be realized by a simple structure.

A laser depilator according to the present invention is comprised ofa˜hair removing unit for removing hairs from the skin, a light sourcefor irradiating laser light, a condenser lens for condensing lightirradiated from the light source, and a light guiding member fordividing the laser light condensed by the condenser lens into pluralluminous fluxes and guiding them to irradiate the skin.

By using the light guiding member which divides the laser light intoplural luminous fluxes and guiding them to irradiate the skin, the laserlight can be irradiated to a relatively large range on the skin surfacewhere hairs have been removed by the hair removing unit, and ahigh-efficiency depilation treatment can be realized by a simpleconfiguration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram showing the laser depilator according toa first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram showing a state of the laser depilatorof FIG. 1 with a tweezer head unit removed from the laser depilatorbody.

FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram showing a state of the laser depilatorof FIG. 1 with a shaving head unit attached to the laser depilator body.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a control system of thelaser depilator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a partially sectional diagram showing a state of depilating bythe laser depilator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a plan diagram showing the skin surface under depilationtreatment by the laser depilator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a partially sectional diagram showing a state of depilating bythe laser depilator according to a modified embodiment of the firstembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective diagram showing the laser depilator according toa second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective diagram showing the laser depilator partlybroken away according to a modified embodiment of the second embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective diagram showing the laser depilator accordingto a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective diagram showing a state of the laser depilatorof FIG. 10 with a tweezer head unit removed from the laser depilatorbody.

FIG. 12 is a perspective diagram showing a state of the laser depilatorof FIG. 10 with the shaving head unit attached to the laser depilatorbody.

FIG. 13 is a perspective diagram showing the laser depilator of FIG. 10partly broken away.

FIG. 14 is a sectional diagram showing an optical fiber configuring apart of the optical system of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a perspective diagram showing the laser depilator accordingto a fourth embodiment of the invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram showing the laser depilator according tothe first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram showing a state of the laser depilatorof FIG. 1 with a tweezer head unit removed from the laser depilatorbody, FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram showing a state of the laserdepilator of FIG. 1 with a shaving head unit attached to the laserdepilator body, and FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing acontrol system of the laser depilator of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a partiallysectional diagram showing a state of depilating by the laser depilatorof FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a plan diagram showing the skin surface underdepilation treatment by the laser depilator of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, this laser depilator 1 is used by a useroneself to perform a laser depilation treatment (laser depilationtreatment) and comprised of a laser depilator body 2, a tweezer headunit 3 and a shaving head unit 8 which are detachable from the laserdepilator body 2. The head unit can be removed from the laser depilatorbody 2 by pulling the head unit to separate from the laser depilatorbody 2 while depressing a pair of unlocking buttons 4 (one of them isnot shown).

The tweezer head unit 3 and the shaving head unit 8 which tend to getdirty because of the tweezed hairs and the shaved hairs can be washedbecause they can be removed from the laser depilator body 2 having anoptical system for irradiating laser light and the control system.

The tweezer head unit 3 has a tweezing mechanism 7 for tweezing hairsfrom the skin surface to which a front 6 of the head unit is contacted.The tweezing mechanism 7 has, for example, plural pinching claws on theperipheral surface of a rotatable cylindrical member. The pinching clawseach are configured of a pair of plates, which repeats a contact andseparate operation in synchronization with the rotations of thecylindrical member. The tweezing mechanism 7 may be configured of agroup of rollers which catches hairs and rotates to pull out. A currentof a high frequency of approximately 300 to 3000 Hz may be fed to therollers to denaturalize the protein of papilla pili portions so as toimprove the depilatory effect.

Meanwhile, the shaving head unit 8 is provided with a shaving mechanism10 for shaving hairs on the skin surface to which a front 9 of the headunit is contacted. The shaving mechanism 10 adopts, for example, avibration-type shaving mechanism, and comprises an outside bladeconfiguring the front 9 of the head unit and an inside blade whichvibrates within the outside blade. The shaving mechanism 10 may adopt arotary-type shaving mechanism of shaving hairs by rotating the insideblade instead of the vibration type.

As shown in FIG. 2, an unwanted hair recovery case 33 for recoveringhairs removed from the skin surface is disposed in a detachable portionbetween the tweezer head unit 3 or the shaving head unit 8 and the laserdepilator body 2. Thus, the unwanted hairs removed from the skin surfacecan be disposed with ease.

The tweezing mechanism 7 and the shaving mechanism 10 are operated by adriving force transmitted from the laser depilator body 2.

Use of either the tweezer head unit 3 or the shaving head unit 8 ispreferably determined appropriately depending on a portion to bedepilated. When the tweezer head unit 3 is used, a good depilatoryeffect can be obtained because the skin surface after the removal ofhairs is smooth and the regrowth of hairs is delayed. Meanwhile, whenthe shaving head unit 5 is used, the depilatory effect is slightlylowered, but a comfortable laser depilation treatment can be performedwithout damaging the skin or hardly causing a pain. The head unit may beprovided with a roller so to facilitate the movement of the head unit onthe skin surface, and this roller can be used as a roller 18 to bedescribed later.

The laser depilator body 2 has a laser diode 12, a cylindrical lens 14,a heat sink 16, a battery 17 and the roller 18 therein and has anopening 19 formed as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3.

The cylindrical lens 14 changes the sectional shape of the beam of laserlight L irradiated from the laser diode 12 from a substantially circularshape to a substantially oval shape. This is to comply with an area ofthe skin where hairs are removed by the head unit.

The laser depilator 1 is held by a hand and moved on the skin as shownin FIG. 5 so to remove hairs H in a belt-shaped area A1 in a movingdirection as shown in FIG. 6. The laser light passed through thecylindrical lens 14 is irradiated to an area A2 in the hair-removed areaA1 to form an irradiation spot.

The shape of the cylindrical lens 14 may be either a cylindrical shapewith convex sides or a semicylindrical shape with convex and flat sides.An ellipsoidal lens can also be used instead of the cylindrical lens 14.The cylindrical lens 14 serves to deform the cross-sectional shape ofthe beam of laser light from the substantially circular shape to a longand thin shape such as a substantially oval shapes and an appropriateoptical element (e.g., a prism) can be used instead of the cylindricallens 14 in a range satisfying such a role.

The heat sink 16 dissipates heat generated at the operation of the laserdiode 12 by heat conduction to suppress the performance from beingdegraded by the temperature increase. Therefore, the heat sink 16 isformed of aluminum or its alloy having good heat conductivity, and asingle or plural through holes are formed to increase the surface areaso as to enhance the heat radiation effect. Besides, the heat sink 16can be configured to be a housing-integral heat sink by integrallyforming with the housing of the laser depilator body 2.

The laser diode 12 is an example of the laser light source and, forexample, a semiconductor device capable of irradiating laser lighthaving a wavelength of 600 to 1600 nm and light output of 5 mW to 9 Wcan be used. Specifically, a PN-junction diode using a compoundsemiconductor such as GaAs (gallium arsenide) is used for the laserdiode 12, and an electric current is directly passed to it forexcitation. Thus, laser oscillation can be obtained.

The battery 17 is a power supply, such as a rechargeable battery or adry cell, for driving the laser depilator.

The roller 18 is a detection means for detecting the movement of thelaser depilator body 2 on the skin. As shown in FIG. 5, it is desirablethat the laser depilator body 2 is moved in a moving direction B toremove hairs H from the skin by the head unit, then the laser light isirradiated. When the laser depilator body 2 is moved in a directionopposite to the direction B, the laser light is irradiated to the skinsurface where hairs H have not been removed.

Therefore, as a moving direction of the laser depilator 1 on the skin isdetected by the roller 18, when the laser depilator 1 is moving in thedirection B of FIG. 5, the laser light is irradiated, and when the laserdepilator 1 is moving in the opposite direction, the irradiation of thelaser light is stopped, useless irradiation of the laser light can bedecreased.

The moving speed of the laser depilator 1 may be detected by the roller18 to vary the intensity of the irradiated laser light depending on themoving speed. When the moving speed of the laser depilator 1 is low, atotal amount of energy of the laser light irradiated to the skinincreases even when the intensity of the irradiated laser light is notso high. Meanwhile, when the moving speed of the laser depilator 1 ishigh, the total amount of energy of the laser light irradiated to theskin tends to become small. Therefore, uneven irradiation onto the skincan be prevented by controlling the intensity of the laser light inaccordance with the moving speed of the laser depilator 1.

The roller 18 may be attached to the head unit instead of the laserdepilator body 2.

The opening 19 is a window for allowing the passage of the laser lightirradiated to the skin and, if necessary, a light-transmittable materialor the cylindrical lens 14 can be filled in it.

As shown in FIG. 1, the laser depilator 1 has a grip 22 which is formedwith its profile partly depressed so to facilitate the holding by a userand an operation unit 23 which is disposed in proximity to the grip 22to operate the irradiation of the laser light from the laser diode 12,the tweezing mechanism 7 and the shaving mechanism 10.

The operation unit 23 is mainly comprised of a power switch 24 forturning on/off the power of the device body, a mode setting switch 25for setting an operation mode of laser depilation, and an LED 26visually indicating the set mode.

The laser depilator 1 can be manipulated in various ways by one handbecause the operation unit 23 is disposed in proximity to the grip 22,and it is excellent in convenience as, for example, a portable device.

The LED 26 may also be used as an indicator for visually indicating theirradiation power of the laser light irradiated from the diode 12. Thus,the irradiation energy of the laser light to the skin surface, which issignificant as a depilation treatment condition, can be made recognizedby the user, and the depilation treatment conditions can be setaccurately.

Then, the control system of the laser depilator 1 will be described.

Specifically, the control system of the laser depilator 1 is comprisedof a mode-switching circuit 27, a memory 28, a laser driving circuit 29,a CPU 30 and an interface 31 as shown in FIG. 4.

The contents set by the mode setting switch 25 are input to themode-switching circuit 27.

Various set values and programs, such as an irradiation pattern of thelaser light, the drive pattern of the tweezing mechanism 7 and theshaving mechanism 10, are stored in the memory 28. Specific set valuesincludes a set value of irradiation timing of laser light intermittentlyirradiated from the laser diode 12 at a prescribed time interval, setvalues of irradiation power (output levels) of laser light correspondingto the set contents of the mode setting switch 25 and a set value of adrive speed of the tweezing mechanism 7 or the shaving mechanism 10.

The irradiation power set value of the laser light stored in the memory28 can be set according to the drive speed of the tweezing mechanism 7or the shaving mechanism 10. When the drive speed of the tweezingmechanism 7 or the shaving mechanism 10 is set to be high, namely whenan effect of removing unwanted hairs is high (when laser light energy ishardly absorbed by unwanted hairs), it is set to decrease, for example,the irradiation power of the laser light.

When the tweezing mechanism 7 or the shaving mechanism 10 is set to havea low drive speed, namely when the effect of removing unwanted hairs islow (when the laser light energy is easily absorbed by unwanted hairs),it is set to increase the laser light irradiation power. Thus, the poweris effectively used, and the device can be used for a long time.

Information indicating the relationship between ON/OFF of laser lightand the intensity of the irradiated light corresponding to the movingdirection and moving speed of the laser depilator detected by the roller18 is also stored as configuration information in the memory 28. And,information indicating whether the intensity of the laser light iscontrolled in accordance with the movement detected by the roller 18 canalso be included in the configuration information.

The laser driving circuit 29 controls the emission of the laser lightfrom the laser diode 12. Specifically the laser driving circuit 29supplies the laser diode 12 with a prescribed drive current voltageunder control by the CPU 30 to emit the laser light from the laser diode12. The laser driving circuit 29 has a laser power variable circuit 32for controlling a voltage (current value) to be supplied to the laserdiode 12. Specifically, the laser power variable circuit 32 adjusts thepower of laser light emitted by the laser diode 12 in accordance withthe configuration contents by the mode setting switch 25.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 30 exercises centralized control ofthe mode-switching circuit 27, the memory 28, the laser driving circuit29 and the interface 31.

The interface 31 connects the laser driving circuit 29, the roller 18and the CPU 30.

When the above-configured laser depilator 1 is used to actually performa depilation treatment, by the power switch 24 and the mode settingswitch 25, its power is turned on and an operation mode of the laserdepilation is selected appropriately. Then, the tweezer head unit 3 orthe shaving head unit 8 of the laser depilator 1 is pressed against theskin surface, and the head unit is slowly moved on the skin surface asshown in FIG. 5.

Thus, laser light is irradiated to the area A2 in the area A1 on theskin surface where the unwanted hairs are shaved or tweezed as shown inFIG. 6.

In this case, the depilation treatment to be performed before the laserdepilation treatment and the irradiation of the laser light for damaginghair roots can be performed continuously, so that the depilationtreatment can be made efficient.

And, the laser depilator 1 has the cylindrical lens 14 to irradiate thelaser light to a relatively large range on the hair-tweezed (-shaved)skin surface. Thus, an effective depilation treatment can be achieved bya simple configuration.

Besides, the intermittence or irradiation intensity of the laser lightcan be controlled by the roller 18 according to the moving direction orthe moving speed of the laser depilator 1. Therefore, laser light can besecurely irradiated to the hair-removed skin surface, and a quantity ofirradiation to the skin can be controlled appropriately depending on thespeed.

FIG. 7 is a partially sectional diagram showing a state of depilating bya laser depilator 1A according to a modified embodiment of the firstembodiment of the present invention and corresponds to FIG. 5.

In the laser depilator 1A, the laser diode 12 is slantingly disposedwith respect to the laser depilator body 2. Consequently, the laserlight is irradiated to the skin surface closer to the head unit ascompared with the one shown in FIG. 5. Specifically, the laser light isirradiated by the laser diode 12 to the skin immediately after theremoval of hairs by the head unit.

The configuration that the irradiation spot of laser light is madecloser to the head unit can also be realized by a method other than themethod of inclining the laser diode 12. For example, it can be realizedby changing the shape of the cylindrical lens 14 from a cylindricalshape to an asymmetrical shape on the sheet of FIG. 7. It can also berealized by using an appropriate optical device such as a prism or alight guiding member such as an optical fiber.

FIG. 7 does not show the roller 18, which may be disposed appropriatelyin the laser depilator body 2 or the head unit.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 8 is a perspective diagram showing a laser depilator 41 accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention. The laser depilator41 has a spherical lens 42 instead of the cylindrical lens 14 and alsoan irradiation position changing unit 43 for changing the irradiatedposition of laser light.

The spherical lens 42 functions as a condenser means for condensing thelaser light.

The irradiation position of the laser light is changed with time by theirradiation position changing unit 43. Then, as a time-average, thelaser light can be irradiated to a flat area proximate to the area A2shown in FIG. 6.

The irradiation position changing unit 43 is comprised of, for example,an eccentric motor or the like and vibrates (reciprocally moves) thelaser diode 12 and the spherical lens 42 together with the heat sink 16.The laser diode 12 and the spherical lens 42 are integrally displaced tokeep the condensed state by the spherical lens 42 constant. Theirradiation position changing unit 43 can be comprised of a combinationof rack-and-pinion and a forward-reversal rotation switching motor orappropriate use of a crankshaft mechanism or the like if it can producea reciprocating motion.

The laser light L can be dissipated (to expand the irradiation range ofthe laser light L) by the spherical lens 42 and the irradiation positionchanging unit 43, and a high-efficiency laser depilation treatment canbe realized by a simple configuration.

FIG. 9 is a perspective diagram showing a laser depilator 51 partlybroken away according to a modified embodiment of the second embodiment.

The laser depilator 51 according to this modified embodiment uses, forexample, an eccentric motor or the like to give weak vibrations to onlya spherical lens 52. Thus, the laser light L can be dissipated byvibrating the spherical lens 52 with the laser diode 12 fixed.Conversely, the laser light L can also be dissipated by vibrating thelaser diode 12 with the spherical lens 52 fixed.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 10 to FIG. 12 are perspective views showing a laser depilator 61according to the third embodiment of the present invention andcorrespond to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 showing the first embodiment. FIG. 13 isa perspective diagram showing the laser depilator 61 partly broken away.

As shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 12, the laser depilator 61 is comprised ofthe laser depilator body 2, the tweezer head unit 3 which is detachablefrom the laser depilator body 2, and the shaving head unit 8 in the samemanner as in the first and second embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 13, the laser depilator body 2 has therein the laserdiode 12, a spherical lens 62, optical parts comprising plural opticalfibers 63 as the light guiding member, the heat sink 16 and the battery17.

The spherical lens 62 condenses the laser light L irradiated from thelaser diode 12.

The plural optical fibers 63 are radially disposed to receive the laserlight L condensed by the spherical lens 62 through individual baseportions 64 and to divide the received laser light L into pluralluminous fluxes. The plural optical fibers 63 guide the laser light Lwhich is divided into the plural luminous fluxes and irradiate the laserlight, (divided into plural luminous fluxes) L from individual leadingends 65 to the skin surface to which the tweezer head unit 3 or theshaving head unit 8 is contacted or its vicinity (see FIG. 12, FIG. 13).

As shown in FIG. 14, the optical fiber 63 has the peripheral surface ofan acrylic core 66 coated with fluorocarbon resin or the like as a clad67. The optical fibers 63 may also be formed of multicomponent glass,quartz glass or the like. The laser depilator may be configured in sucha way that a household AC power supply can be used as the drive powersupply instead of the battery 17.

The laser depilator 61 irradiates laser light to a relatively largerange of the skin surface where hairs have been tweezed (shaved) bymeans of the tweezing mechanism (or shaving mechanism 10) 7 for tweezinghairs from the skin surface, the spherical lens 62 for increase thelight energy density of the laser light and the optical fibers 63 fordividing the laser light having the energy density increased intoplural, luminous fluxes. Thus, an effective depilation treatment can beperformed by a simple structure.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 15 is a perspective diagram showing a laser depilator 71 accordingto the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

The laser depilator 71 according to this embodiment has plural sphericallenses 72 arranged in proximity to the tweezer head unit 3. As theindividual spherical lens 72 a forms a laser light condensing spots,laser light L irradiated from the laser diode 12 is substantiallydivided into plural luminous fluxes, and the irradiation range of thelaser light L is expanded. Thus, a high-efficiency laser depilationtreatment can be realized by a simple structure.

Here, the front 6 of the tweezer head unit 3 serves as a spacer andfunctions as a positioning means for keeping a prescribed distancebetween the skin surface and the spherical lens 42 for irradiation ofthe laser light L to the skin surface. Thus, a spot size of the laserlight L irradiated to the skin surface, namely an amount of energy ofthe laser light L, can be controlled. The laser depilator 71 is furtherprovided with an image pickup device 73 such as a CCD camera or a CMOScamera for taking a picture of the front of the tweezer head unit 3contacted to the skin surface and a TV monitor 75 for displaying animage taken by the image pickup device 73 and magnified through amagnifying lens (not shown) or the like.

Therefore, the laser depilator 71 can be moved while watching themagnified image of the depilation portion displayed on the TV monitor75, so that the laser light can be irradiated accurately to the targetdepilation portion. Thus, the depilatory effect is enhanced, thedepilation treating efficiency is improved, and the time and laborrequired for the depilation treatment can be reduced. The configurationusing the above image pickup device can also be applied to otherembodiments.

Other Embodiments

The present invention has been described specifically with reference tothe individual embodiments, but it is to be understood that the presentinvention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof illustratedherein, and various modifications may be made without deviating from thespirit and scope of the invention.

For example, a Peltier element may be used for the tweezer head unit 3or the shaving head unit 8 to be contacted to the skin surface to coolthe skin surface irradiated with laser light so to ease a pain.Conversely, the skin surface may be warmed by the Peltier element toopen hair pores so to irradiate laser light into hair roots securely,thereby improving the depilatory effect.

Besides, a mechanism of sucking the skin surface irradiated by laserlight may be added to enlarge the hair pores in the same way so as toenhance the depilatory effect.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The laser depilator according to the present invention can efficientlyremove hairs and irradiates laser light to hair roots and can beproduced commercially.

1. A laser depilator, comprising: a hair removing unit for removinghairs from skin, the hair removing unit comprising a tweezer head unitand a shaving head unit which are provided at the same end of the hairremoving unit such that the shaving head unit can cover the tweezer headunit; a light source for irradiating laser light; and a lens forirradiating the skin with the irradiated laser light while deforming ashape of a beam of the laser light to conform to a shape of a region ofthe skin from which hairs are removed by the hair removing unit, whereinthe lens comprises a cylindrical lens, a semicylindrical lens, or anellipsoidal lens, so that the laser light can be irradiated through aside surface of the lens perpendicular to an axial direction of the lensto conform to the shape of the region of the skin from which the hairsare removed.
 2. The laser depilator according to claim 1, wherein thehair removing unit includes at least one shaving mechanism for shavingthe hairs or a tweezing mechanism for tweezing the hairs.
 3. The laserdepilator according to claim 1, wherein the hair removing unit isdetachable.
 4. The laser depilator according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a movement detection unit for detecting a travel distance ofthe laser depilator on the skin; and an irradiation quantity controlunit for controlling a quantity of the laser light irradiated from thelight source in accordance with the travel distance detected by themovement detection unit.
 5. The laser depilator according to claim 1,further comprising: a recovery vessel for recovering the hairs removedfrom the skin by the hair removing unit.
 6. The laser depilatoraccording to claim 1, further comprising: a grip portion for holding thelaser depilator; and an operation unit disposed in proximity to the gripportion for operating the irradiation of the laser light from the lightsource and the hair removing unit.
 7. The laser depilator according toclaim 1, wherein the hair removing unit includes a plurality of blades.8. The laser depilator according to claim 1, wherein a drive powersupply of the depilator body is a rechargeable battery or a dry cell. 9.The laser depilator according to claim 1, further comprising: adepilation treatment adjusting mechanism for varying and adjusting adistribution between a drive speed of the hair removing unit and anirradiation power of the laser light by a laser irradiation mechanism.10. The laser depilator according to claim 1, further comprising: anirradiation power display unit for displaying an irradiation power ofthe laser light irradiated from the light source.